CHAPTER 3:

CHAPTER 3:

Arsenio, Mike Gardon

BSBA Marketing 3B
Marketing Research
5:30-8:30 (Saturday)
The Marketing Research Process
(The 11-Step Process)
1. Establish the Need for Marketing Research
2. Define the Problem
3. Establish Research Objectives
4. Determine Research Design
5. Identify Information Types and Sources
6. Determine Methods of Accessing Data
7. Design Data Collection Forms
8. Determine the Sample Plan and Size
9. Collect Data
10. Analyze Data
11. Prepare and Present the Final Research Report
STEP 1: Establish the Need for
Marketing Research

- The need for Marketing Research arises

when Managers must make decisions and
they have inadequate information.

Some circumstances that indicate

research is not the best option:
1. The information is already available
2. The timing is wrong to conduct
marketing research
3. Costs outweigh the value of marketing
research
STEP2: Define the Problem

- If the problem is
incorrectly defined, all that
follows is wasted effort.
STEP 3: Establish
Research Objectives
- Tell the researcher exactly
what information needs to be
gathered and analyzed to allow
managers to make decisions
related to a problem.
STEP 4: Determine
Research Design
- Referring to the research approach used to
meet the research objectives.

Three wisely recognized research design:

1. Exploratory Research- form of casual
information research
2. Descriptive Research- refers to research
that describes the phenomena of interest
3. Casual Research- studies attempt to
uncover what factors cause some event
STEP 5: Identify
Information Types and
Sources
- Researchers must identify the types and
sources of information they will use.

Two types of Information:

1. Primary Information- information collected
specifically for the problem at hand
2. Secondary Information- information already
collected
STEP6: Determine Methods
of Accessing Data

- Data may be accessed

through a variety of
methods.
STEP 7: Design Data
Collection Forms
- Involves designing the form for
data collection. If we communicate
with respondents (ask them a
questions), the form is called a
questionnaire. If we ask questions
in a focus group, the form is called a
focus group guide.
STEP 8: Determine the
Sample Plan and Size
 Population- consists of the group about which the
researchers wishes to make inferences based on
information provided by the sample data
 Sample- is a subset of the population
 Sample Plans- describe how each sample
element, or unit is to be drawn from the total
population
 Sample Frame- list of the population elements or
units
STEP 9: Collect Data
- Learn what issues to
consider in collecting data in
the field to ensure the
highest possible data quality.
STEP 10: Analyze Data
- Marketing research transfer
data from the data collection
forms and enter the data into
software packages that aid
them in analyzing the data.
Step 11: Prepare and
Present the Final Research
Report

- Presenting the
marketing research
report
Defining the Problem
Defining the problem properly is the most
important step in the marketing research
process.

Problems are situations calling for managers

to make choices among alternatives.
The five Process for Defining a
Problem
 Recognize the Problem

 Understand the Background of the Problem

 Determine What Decisions Need to Be made

 Identify What Additional Information is

Needed

 Formulate the Problem Statement

Recognize the problem

A manager encounter a problem when

or she encounters a situation that is
negative or potentially positive for the
organization. These two sources of problems
can be stated as the failure to meet an
objective or the identification of an
opportunity.

Failure to Meet an Objective

Identification of an Opportunity
 Understand the Background of
the Problem
To understand the background of a problem, the
researcher must conduct a situation analysis, clarify the
symptoms of the problem, and determine the probable
causes of the symptom.

 Conduct a Situation Analysis

 Clarify the Symptoms

 Determine the Probable Causes of the Symptom

 Determine Alternative Decisions

 Determine what Decisions Need to be Made
“Specify Decision Alternatives” Essentially, possible
Decision alternatives are all marketing action that the
manager thinks may resolve the problem.

“Weigh the Alternatives” Consequences are the results

of marketing actions. To evaluate decision alternatives,
we must speculate as to the consequences of
selecting each alternative. What are the most likely
consequences we can anticipate with each decision
alternative? Will the decision alternative affect sale?
Product recognition? Market share? Note that we are
anticipating a consequence. If we know the
consequence, there is no need for marketing research.
Assuming that we don’t know the consequence,
research on each alternative under consideration will
help determine which decision alternative is the best
choice.
Identify what Additional Information is Needed
Information state is the quantity and quality of
evidence a manager possesses for each of his or her
assumptions.

Information gaps are discrepancies between

the current information level and the desired level of
information at which the manager feels comfortable
resolving the problem at hand.
Formulate the Problem
Statement
The problem statement is a
concise description of the
problem or opportunity that
management is facing that
requires research to make a
decision.
 Research Objectives
A research objective is a goal-oriented statement or
question that specifies what information is needed to
solve a problem.

Using Hypotheses: Hypotheses are statements that

are taken as true for the purposes of argument or
investigation.

Defining Constructs: A construct is an abstract idea

or concept composed of a set of attitudes or
behaviors that are thought to be related.
Action Standard is the predesignating of some
quantity of a measured attribute or
characteristic that must be achieved for a
predetermined action to take place.

Marketing Research Proposal is the contract

that documents what the marketing
researcher pledges to deliver as a result of the
marketing research process.

Invitation to Bid(ITB) or Request for

Proposal(RFP) are often used in the marketing
research process. These are routinely used in
all business sectors when a firm desires supplier
firms to present proposals or bids.
Elements of Proposal
1. Statement of the Problem
2. The Research Objectives
3. Research Method
4. Statement of Deliverables
5. Cost
6. Timetable
Marketing Research Proposal process
is an area where clients and
researchers should be sensitive to
ethical issues. Clients should not
expect marketing research firms to
provide value-added services prior to
signing a contract.
Marketing Research Association members
must agree to:

 What must be performed as specified in

the agreement with client
 Maintain trusted relationship with clients
and research sponsors by keeping
confidential all sensitive or propriety
research techniques, methodologies and
business information.
CHAPTER:4
Research Design
4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

According to Zikmund:

• Research literally means “to search again.”

• The design is essentially a plan to show the
final product even before it is built or made.

Research design is the plan that

guides data collection to achieve the objective
of research, to generate information based on
existing ones.
Why is Knowledge of Research Design Important?

Knowledge of research design is important in

developing an appropriate study to approach a
problem or opportunity. It therefore provides a
solid base for the whole research. It is needed
due to the fact that it allows for the smooth
working of the many research operation

Knowledge of the needed Research design

allows advance planning so that the project may
be conducted in less time and typically at a cost
savings due to efficiencies gained in preplanning.
Planning the Research Design:

Areas of Ethical Sensitivity

• Recommending a Costlier Design Than Needed

• Design a Study in Which Data is Collected for
Multiple Clients
• Using Information Obtained for a Client in Another
Research Project
• Over-or Underestimating Data Collection Cost
• Wrongfully Gaining Respondent Cooperation to
Reduce Costs
• Misrepresenting Sampling Methods
4.2 Three Types of Research Designs

Research designs are classified into three

traditional categories: exploratory, descriptive,
and causal.
Three common objectives:

1.To gain background information and to

develop hypothesis

2.To measure the state of a variable of interest

or,

3.To test hypotheses that specify the

relationship between two or more variables .
Research Design: A Caution

Before discussing the three types of

research design, a warning may be in order
against thinking of research design solely in a
step-by-step fashion. The order in which the
design are presented in this chapter –that is,
exploratory, descriptive, and causal- is not
necessarily the order in which these designs
should be carried out.
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
AND
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
 Exploratoryresearch is unstructured,
informal research that is undertaken to
gain background information about the
general nature of the research problem.
Exploratory research is used in a number of
situations:
To gain background information:
When the problem has not been clearly
formulated, exploratory research may be used to
gain the needed background information.
Define terms:
To define a questions such as ‘‘What is satisfaction
with service quality?’’
 To clarify problems and hypotheses:
Allows the researcher to define the problem more
precisely and to generate hypotheses for the
upcoming study.
 Establish research priorities:
can be used to prioritize research topics in order of
importance, especially when it is faced with
conducting several research studies.
Methods of Conducting
Exploratory Research

 Secondary Data Analysis:

The process of searching for interpreting
existing information relevant to research
topic.
 Experience Surveys:
Refer to gathering information from those
thought to be knowledgeable on the issues
relevant to the research problem.
 Case analysis:
A review of available information about a
former situation(s) that has some similarities
to the present research problem.
 Focus Groups:
Bringing small groups of people together
and guided by a moderator through an
unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the
purpose of gaining information relevant to a
research problem.
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
 Isundertaken to collect data to examine
the characteristic of consumers and/or
the market.
 Researchers randomly selects
respondents from a population to answer
a standardized questionnaire or conduct
a face-to-face interview or telephone
interview to collect data to assess
people's behavior, beliefs and attitudes
Classification of descriptive
research studies
 Two types of descriptive research studies are
available to the marketing researcher,
‘’Cross-sectional and Longitudinal.’’
 Cross-sectional
Measure units from a sample of the population
at one point in a time.

Sample surveys are cross-sectional studies

whose samples are designed in such a way as
to be representative of a specific population at
a pre-determined margin of error.
 Longitudinal
Repeatedly measure the same units of a
population over a period of time.

Panels are samples of the respondents

who have agreed to provide information or
answer questions at regular intervals
Two types of panels
1. Continuous Panel:
Are respondents who agree to answer
the same questions at periodic intervals.
2. Discontinuous Panel:
Are samples of respondents who
answer different questions on a regular
basis over a period of time.
Casual Research is used to measure causality in
relationship such as “if x, then y”

Causality is a relationship in which one or more

variables affect one or more other variables.
Experiment is a type of study in which one or more
independent variables are affected while also
controlling the effect of additional extraneous
variables.

Independent variables are variables over which the

researcher has control and wishes to manipulate to
measure the effect on the dependent variables.

Dependent variables are variables that are

measured in response to changes in independent
variables.

Extraneous variables are all of the variables other

than the independent variables that may have an
affect on the dependent variables.
Experimental design is a procedure for devising an
experimental setting so that a change in a
dependent variables may be attributed solely to
the change in an independent variables.

A pretest is a measurement of the dependent

variable that is taken prior to changing the
independent variables.
A control group is a group whose subject have not
been exposed to the change in the independent
variable.
An experimental group is a group that has been
exposed to a change in the independent
variable.
How valid are experiments?

Internal validity in an experimental study is the extent

to which the researcher is certain that a change in a
dependent variable is actually due to the
independent variables.

External validity refers to the extent to which a

researcher can be certain that a relationship
observed between independent and dependent
variables during an experiment would occur under
realworld conditions.
 Types of experiment

Laboratory Experiments are those in which one or

more independent variables are manipulated and
measures of the dependent variables are taken in
an artificial setting for the purpose of controlling all
extraneous variable variables that may affect the
dependent variable.

Field Experiment are those in which the

independent variables are manipulated and the
measurements of the dependent variables are
taken in their natural setting.
 Test marketing
Is a conducting test an experiment or study in a
field setting to evaluate a new product or service or
other elements of the marketing mix.

A standard test market is one in which the firm tests the

product or marketing mix variables through the
company’s normal distribution channels.

A controlled test market is one that is conducted by

outside research firms that guarantee distribution of
the product through prespecified types and numbers
of distributors.
An Electronic test market is one in which a panel
of consumers has agreed to carry identification
cards that each consumer present when buying
foods and service.

An Simulated test market are those in which a

limited amount of data on consumer response to
a new product is fed into a model containing
certain assumption regarding planned marketing
programs which generates likely product sales
volume.